Symposium on Agriculture and Food Security

Symposium: Agriculture and Natural Resources for Food Security

Date: 14 October 2018

Time: 08:15-12:50

Hall: TBC

Agriculture has been the mainstay of Nepal’s economy as well as the main source of livelihoods for majority of people in the country from the time immemorial to date. Yet, the country has increasing dependence on the imports of food and agriculture inputs over time. Despite much emphasis put on agriculture development in the periodic plans for nearly half a century now, the capacity to achieve appropriate agricultural education, innovation of technology, multi-sectoral collaboration and investment required thereof have not been adequate to explore the vast potential of diverse agricultural resources in order to secure sufficient, safe and healthy food for the people.

Background: By the end of the period of the first long-term agricultural plan of Nepal, Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP), 1995/96 – 2014/15, productivity, infrastructure, food security and poverty situation are known to have improved substantially. However, the status of agriculture development was still considered to be in a “low development stage” due to inability to achieve the level of growth as anticipated. Despite some subsectors such as dairy processing, poultry, tea, vegetable seed and fisheries showed positive signs, they are not yet sufficient to lift a large number of people engaged in agriculture out of poverty and make a dramatic dent in reducing malnutrition and assure food security of the nation. This has been the assessment during the formulation of the current long-term plan, Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS) that is expected to guide the agricultural sector during strategy period, 2015-2035. Over the period of this two decade long plan, the structure of the agricultural sector is expected to change considerably, with the agribusiness and non-farm rural activities growing relative to accelerated agricultural growth. The ADS considers the agricultural sector in its complexity, and encompasses not only the production sectors (crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry) but also the processing sector, trade and other services (storage, transportation and logistics, finance, marketing, research, extension).

The ADS outlines its expected impacts through accelerated agricultural growth as follows:

Ensuring food and nutrition security through improving productivity, profitability and competitiveness in agriculture,

Reducing poverty reduction through accelerated agricultural growth,

Providing an important source of foreign exchange through agricultural trade surplus,

Promoting inclusion of disadvantaged groups and regions through an approach to value chain development for higher and more equitable income of rural households

Providing institutional mechanisms to ensure farmers’ rights to participation in the planning, decision making, implementation, and monitoring of the strategy.

All these expected impacts remain only a tall talk if the country does to acquire the required capacity early enough for achieving the expected outputs i.e., improved governance, higher productivity, profitable commercialization and increased competitiveness as projected by the ADS. Importantly, the vast number of the Nepal’s current pool of professional expertise remain in foreign lands as Diaspora resources that should be redirected back to the motherland to revitalize innovation and adaptation of technologies as well as multi-sectoral collaboration and investment for transformative leap forward in the agriculture sector. This series of two symposia aims to address these concerns.

Keynote Policy Remarks from the Government of Nepal (12 min + 2 min Q&As): The Guest of Honor Dr. Yubak Dhoj GC, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives, Government of Nepal.

Important notes for Abstract submissions: Abstracts for mainly posters and a limited number of oral and rapid fire presentations are welcome for this series of “Agriculture and Food Security” symposia. Rapid Fire Presenters are encouraged to adopt “Pecha Kucha” type of presentation which consists of 20 images/slides for fast-paced presentation in 20 seconds each (6 min 40 seconds in total), or can choose to present fewer slides within strictly allotted time of 6 minutes each). Fast-paced presenters interested in Pecha-Kucha are requested to indicate it in their abstract submission. Coordinators reserve the rights to accommodate the accepted abstracts for Accepted oral, Pecha Kucha or Rapid Fire Presentation as requested as possible within the available time. Convention Registration fee is waived for all invited or accepted presenters.